Thugs and the women who love them VA Style
by A CriticXWriter All in one
Summary: Ok guys long time no see. I have read so many books and decided to show you guys all of them but i'm using VA characters so you guys can relate to them. This is my first one called Thugs and the women who love then. The story is about Rose Lissa And Sydney going through life with Thug boyfriends. Give it a try and look inside cause' you will never know what the future hides hahaha
1. Chapter 1

"Thank you very much, , and please come again." The saleswoman smiled, shaking Angel's hand eagerly before she handed her three Wilson's Leather boutique shopping bags and a receipt.

"No, thank you," Rose replied. "And I'll be sure to tell all my friends about your store."

As she headed to the door, Rose turned to look at the woman, and she had to laugh. The salesgirl had picked up a calculator and was furiously punching in numbers, obviously calculating her commission on the $4,400.00 purchase Rose had just made. Too bad she had no idea that the check Rose had written was from a stolen checkbook, and the account had been closed for months. So Rose walked out of Wilson's with three big shopping bags filled with lots of items she would sell and a few for herself.

This was Rose's hustle to keep cash in her pockets. Going to law school was no easy task. It was a full-time job in itself. Trying to work and study just didn't work for her at all. There was no way she'd be able to finish school a semester early with a full-time job. She had to do one or the other, so she chooses school. She'd already managed to get her Bachelor's degree in three years. Now her goal was to graduate the same time as her Best friends: Lissa, Sydney, and Mia.

Rose did some window shopping on the way to her car. Oxford Valley Mall was the perfect place for Rose to run her game. The clerks were cordial and all the stores were very check friendly. She assumed the stores must have had some good insurance because she and every other hustler she knew had been wearing them out. Still, she knew her good luck couldn't last forever in this place. That's why she'd decided that after tonight she wouldn't be back. The last time she was at Oxford Valley she wrote almost $12,000.00 worth of bad checks. She planned on doing about the same tonight, if not more.

The merchandise she got from Wilson's would easily sell for between $1,800.00 and $2,200.00. Her fence, Jessie, usually bought all of the handbags and jewelry she could bring him. Way back, she and Jessie had been a couple, until Rose found out that she wasn't his only woman. Actually, she was one of three women who Jessie had scattered throughout the city. They'd only been involved for about six months, so it wasn't that tough for Rose to break things off. She still kept their business relationship open, though. After all, he was the best fence around, and she was looking forward to collecting from him after tonight.

Rose spotted a tennis bracelet in the window of Zales that she couldn't resist, but the Wilson's bags were starting to hurt her arms. So she decided to put the bags in her car and then come back for the bracelet. She had just squeezed onto the escalator that led to the first floor level when she noticed a woman staring at her from the up escalator. Rose did a double take as they passed each other. She realized the woman was a clerk who worked at one of the perfume counters at Macy's. Apparently, the woman remembered her, too.

A damn perfume clerk! Rose laughed to herself. Why couldn't it at least have been a jewelry store? Somewhere that she'd bilked for thousands of dollars instead of a couple of hundred. But when she looked up, Rose wasn't so amused anymore.

The tall, skinny clerk had stepped off the escalator at the second floor and was motioning to one of the mall's toy store cops. Rose was glad she had on some flat shoes. She stepped off the escalator and walked fast, in search of the nearest exit that would lead to her parked car. When she glanced back, she saw that the skinny clerk and a toy cop were on their way down the escalator. Rose got a firm grip on her bags and took off running.

"Excuse me! I need to catch my bus!" She was loud but polite as she swerved in and around the several crowds of people standing around the food court. "Sorry! Pardon me!" She apologized as she bumped a little boy in the head with her bags.

Rose ran right past the bus that was picking up the mall passengers. "Fuck!" She screamed as she realized that her car was parked way around the other side of the mall. She felt like crying, but she kept running. Her fingers and arms were burning from the heavy bags she was carrying. A red van provided a place for her to hide behind, to catch her breath and see where the toy cop was. She went to the edge of the van and peeked around. A meddling shopper was standing next to a toy cop—she was pointing in her direction. Goddamn Good Samaritan! Angel ducked down and was moving between the parked cars as fast as she could. She had broken into a sweat.

"Shit!" She yelled as she set off a car alarm on a silver BMW. She stood up so she could run even faster. Behind her, the toy cop was fumbling with his radio, trying to talk into it and chase her at the same time. She was glad that he was fat, because he wasn't moving very fast.

"Where's my fuckin' car?" She was trying not to panic. Her fingers and arms were now in super burn mode. The thought that she left the driver's side open for reasons like this one soothed her a little bit. A spare ignition key was stuffed in her bra.

I'd be alright if I could just find my damn car now! She thought.

Toy cop was trying to gain on her.

"Yes! Yes! Thank you, Lord!" She spotted her green Honda Civic. "Fuck!" She breathed out fire when she saw orange dice hanging from the rearview mirror. "That's not my car!" She ran faster.

"Come here! I just want to…talk to you!" Toy cop barely got out those words.

Rose ran faster. She spotted another green Honda four cars over. "Please forgive me, Lord, for cussing. Please let this be my car!" This time she looked at the license plate. "Oh, fuck!" She had stolen tags. She noticed the strawberry air freshener hanging down and smiled. "That's my car."

She didn't even remember opening the door and stuffing the bags onto the passenger seat. She only knew that she had to start the car. She put the car in reverse. When she backed up, she hit a station wagon. Another Good Samaritan was performing their "civic duty" by blocking her in. Rose rolled the window down and screamed.

"Move the fuck outta my way or I'm gonna knock your doors in!" She rolled her car window back up just as toy top grabbed the door handle and tried to open the door. Luckily it was locked. He started banging on the window and calling for help on his radio. Rose ignored him. She backed up again into the station wagon. This time the Good Samaritan was cursing as he moved the station wagon out of Angel's way. Toy cop was banging on the hood, commanding Rose to stop as she finally backed out of her parking space and floored it. She headed to the nearest exit, prayed, and thanked God for helping her out of that close call. If she got busted, then her man Keenan would know what she'd been up to—not to mention her mom. She couldn't afford for that to happen.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm not one of your fucking hos," Rose screamed as she threw the iron at Snake. He was almost out the door when the iron hit him on the back of the neck. He turned to go after Rose, but she slammed the bedroom door and locked it.

"Get the fuck out of my house," she yelled.

"I hate you!"

Snake tried to break the doorknob, but he jammed it instead. He started banging on the door, trying to break it down.

"Get the fuck out my house," Rose screamed again.

"I pay the rent here!" Snake yelled.

"I don't give a fuck!"

Snake turned around, did a karate kick, and his leg went smashing through the door. He reached inside, turned the knob, and it fell to the floor. Rose was rummaging through the closet trying to find a bat, a stick, an axe, anything. She was not going to let Snake beat her down without giving him a fight. She wasn't going out like that. She barely managed to pick up a metal hanger and straighten out the hook when he grabbed her by her hair. She swung around and sliced him across the cheek with her fresh-made weapon.

"Aw, fuck!" He gasped as the blood squirted out.

He banged her head against the radiator. Rose gritted her teeth as a few trickles of blood wet her forehead. Snake really didn't want to hurt her, so he just pushed her face into the floor. She screamed for her mother. Rose's mom, Janine, didn't even move from the desk where she was sitting. She just yelled for Snake to leave and then mumbled about how tired she was of both of them. After all, what could she say that would make a damn bit of difference? Snake and Rose had been messing around for almost two years. Plus, he paid the rent, Rose 's tuition, and whatever else Janine needed. All she had to do was ask, and he paid. She was used to their violent relationship. Just as long as he didn't turn her daughter out, 'cause then she would have to kill him.

Snake calmed down a little when he heard her mother's voice. He inspected the bloodstains on his dark, olive-colored Versace shirt with the snakeskin buttons, and smacked Rose one more time. Rose, still propped on the floor, kicked him in the stomach and called him a punk bitch as she reached for her 9mm. She held it with both hands and aimed at his face. Snake just stood there and looked at those sexy hazel eyes, perky nose, and smooth, sensual lips, which were now in a pout.

"Put down the gun, baby."

She didn't move an inch. Blood was slowly dripping down her forehead. It really turned Snake on when she was pissed at him and fought back. Maybe that's why his attraction to her was so strong. She was definitely a challenge to him, and he liked a challenge. He had no respect for females who didn't fight back.

Rose was still lying there with the 9mm cocked, pointing it at him. She was drenched in sweat and her nipples were protruding through the tight, see-through blouse she had on. Eyeing those luscious nipples of hers made Snake's dick hard. He loved sucking on those sweet, round nipples. Since Snake's thinking went from his head down to his dick, now he had to figure out how he could get some. He figured she wouldn't give him any if she was too pissed. Little did Snake know that when Angel's eyes shot down and saw Snake's hard dick, it would be much easier than he thought.

Damn, Rose said to herself. I don't want to give in to him now. Not this easy. As she lay there looking up at 6-foot-7 Snake, her eyes roamed his cold, piercing eyes, brown, and long wavy hair and muscular arms. All she could focus on was how fine he was and how he could make her come for what seemed like forever. She could see why once his whores got a taste of that dick they would go nowhere. It didn't matter that he put his foot up their asses every chance he got. They were there for the long haul.

Rose got up off the floor and asked Snake in a squeaky voice to please leave. She decided to hide her "9" in a new spot, this time on the top shelf in her closet. As she rose up, Snake noticed the long rip in her skirt that exposed her smooth, yellow thighs. Snake's dick was still hard as he reached for his silk handkerchief and started wiping the blood off the side of his face. He didn't say anything, nor did he move from the spot where he was standing.

They both looked around in amazement at the mess they'd just made. The iron was shattered to pieces, the ironing board was upside down, there was a huge hole in the bedroom door, and pillows and blankets lay on the floor. On top of that, Rose's Chanel skirt was ripped and she had a huge, ugly knot on her forehead.

"Come here, baby," Snake said. "I'm sorry."

Rose was already standing in front of the dresser, looking herself over in the mirror. Her hair was all over the place. The knot on her forehead spattered small drops of blood on her blouse.

Snake eased over to where she stood.

"Baby, you are so fuckin' hot when you get angry."

"What kind of lame compliment is that?" Rose sucked her teeth. "You being a so-called player, I know you can come better than that." This man makes me sick, she thought to herself. "Look, boy, I'm gonna say this only once. Are you listening?"

"I'm listening."

"This is the last fucking time we have a fight. Trust and believe, if you ever hit me again, I'm gonna blow your fucking brains out. Look at this fuckin' knot on my head." She examined it again in the mirror. "The last time. Do you understand me?"

"I hear you."

"I know you hear me. But do you understand? Tell me you fuckin' understand!" she yelled.

"I understand, baby. Damn!"

Snake inched up closer to her, resting his hard dick on her soft behind. Rose didn't protest. It felt good, but she was trying not to let Snake know it.

"Look, baby, all I'm saying is that you always look good to me. When you wake up in the morning, if you got a big knot on your forehead, it don't matter. You could be wearing rags!"

Snake reached up and started playing with her nipples. They both watched in the mirror as her nipples got harder. Rose's cheeks were turning redder.

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to lose my temper like that," he whispered in her ear.

"I'm not one of your whores, Dimitri." She refused to call him by his nickname.

"I know, baby. You know I love you, and I never mean to hurt you," Snake whispered in her ear.

"Then why in the hell did you come in here hitting me like that?"

"Because, baby, I told you I didn't want you around that man Mason. He isn't shit! Study group or no fuckin' study group."

"I told you we have two classes together. He's a square, and there is no attraction there. You are my man. Why can't you just let it go? How could you be so fucking insecure?"

"I know, baby, but you're spending just a little too much time with him and I already told you I don't like it. I'm a player, baby. I know who's a square and who isn't."

"You don't own me,Dimitri. I have to handle my business."

Snake's hands were already sliding up under Rose's skirt and he was sliding her panties down. He slipped two fingers up her pussy and licked her neck. Her pussy quickly became drenched with her love juices. I knew she was turned on, Snake thought to himself. I don't know why she likes to play hard.

Rose, mumbling through her moans, told Snake to postpone this and come over later, because her mom and little sister were in the next room. Snake, ignoring her, pushed her over and unzipped his Versace pants. They fell to the floor. He put on a condom and then rammed his rod into her pussy in one quick motion. Rose shrieked in pleasure.

"Damn, baby, that feels sooooo good," she moaned as the hot juices flowed down her thighs. Snake stroked and stroked until Rose's body started twitching, then went limp. She sprawled out over the dresser. Snake, still deep inside her, leaned over and kissed her neck roughly.

"I'll catch up with you later." He pulled out and pulled off the condom, fixed his clothes and walked out of the bedroom. Rose was still sprawled across the dresser trying to catch her breath.

Janine was still posted at her desk doing paperwork, while Rose's twelve-year-old sister, Meredith, had her head stuck in the refrigerator. Neither one of them said anything to Snake as he walked out the front door.


	3. Chapter 3

Snake closed the apartment door and headed down the hallway toward the elevator. As he pushed the down button, his cell phone vibrated. He flipped open the phone.

"I have a Tasha calling collect. Will you accept the charges?" It was the dry voice of an operator.

"Yeah," said Snake.

"What's up?" Snake asked irritably.

"I've been calling you all day. Where the hell you been and why haven't you been answering the phone? I could've been dying!" Tasha complained.

"Don't ask me questions. I run this shit!" Snake yelled into the phone.

Tasha was Snake's oldest whore. She had been on the stroll for Snake for almost six years now, and she lived up to her name. She had big eyes, a big mouth, big legs, big tits, and a big, big ass. but Snake was noticing that her mouth was getting feistier than usual. It was probably because he'd been too busy to put his size eleven snakeskin shoes up her wide ass. He was going to do that as soon as he saw her.

"I got busted last night at the Radisson. It's seventeen hundred to bail me out."

"You was lying on your back for seven hours and you don't have seventeen hundred? You think I'm crazy?"

"Snake, baby, the police took all my money, and I even had to suck two of their dicks. I'll get everything back for you."

Snake hung up on her. The elevator still didn't come.

"Damn thing must be broke," he muttered. "I wish she would move out this building."

Snake headed for the stairs. At the bottom of the first flight he noticed one of his whores. Lexus was six feet tall with a beautiful body, but her greatest asset was those pretty, long curvaceous legs. She looked like Tyra Banks. She was sitting at the top of the stairwell in the corner in a deep nod, her beige, silk, T-strap Chanel dress clinging tightly to her curves. Her thighs were exposed and her long legs stretched to the third step. Her hair hung wildly and saliva spilled out of the corner of her mouth. Lexus was totally oblivious to everything around her, including mean-ass Snake hovering over her.

I know this bitch isn't high, Snake thought to himself. He grabbed her arm to examine it and to confirm the needle holes scarring her pretty, brown complexion. She didn't even feel Snake holding her arm up.

"You dumb bitch!" he yelled as he kicked her on the thigh.

Lexus jumped up and slurred, "Hey, Daddy, I feel so sick. I was just sitting here resting and waiting for you." She rubbed her thigh where Snake had just kicked her.

He slapped her in the face.

"You lying bitch! How are you waiting' on me and you didn't even know I was here?"

Snake grabbed her little Fendi bag and emptied the contents on the stairwell floor. A bottle of Obsession, a half pack of Newport's, condoms, one hundred and eighty dollars, two bags of dope and the works to go with it, fell onto the steps.

Lexus's eyes grew wide in terror as Snake examined the purse contents. Lexus knew what was coming.

"Give me the rest of my damn money!" Snake's words sliced through Lexus's stomach.

Her trembling hands slid between her legs and pulled out a plastic bag. She handed the money to Snake and tried to apologize her way out of an ass whipping. As he counted the money, fear was beginning to make her high wear off. He put the three hundred and forty dollars into his wallet. Lexus's knees got weak as she felt his cold eyes staring at her.

"Lexus." He stared into her eyes. "You know the fuckin' policy. No drugs! Daddy isn't wasting' his fuckin' money on dope. That's money that goes on this fuckin' Chanel dress you got on." He slapped her. "That's money that goes for the nice fuckin' roof I keep over your head!"

He grabbed her around her neck and tried his best to choke her to death. When Snake got mad at his whores he lost all of his common sense. Instead of thinking logically that these women were his bread and butter, he would try his best to kill them. He had succeeded with four of them in the past.

Lexus was kicking and trying to pull Snake's tight grip from around her neck. Her complexion was no longer chocolate coffee. It was now blue. With one quick motion, he slung her down the flight of stairs. Her body slammed against the stairwell door. Snake walked down the flight of stairs and picked her up. He started to punch her in the face. As she weakly tried to cover herself from the brutal blows, he dropped her to the floor and started kicking her. The kicks turned to stomps. Lexus could no longer breathe. Her entire body felt numb.

"Please," she begged. "Please stop it, Daddy!" She cried. "I swear that was my last fix," she cried out.

Snake was startled that she had that much energy left to talk. He stood still and just stared at her, breathing heavy.

"Get your dope fiend ass up. Go somewhere and clean up."

He straightened out his clothes and went toward the front exit. Playing' isn't easy, he thought to himself.

When he walked out into the fresh air he almost tripped over Rose's Friends. Here stood Lissa, Mia, and Sydney, who was Rose's first cousin.

"This isn't my fucking day," he said.

"Seeing you don't make it our fucking day either," Mia replied.

He disliked the threesome, and he knew the feelings were mutual. There was especially bad blood between him and Mia. Rose always took Mia's side over Snake's when there was a problem, and that drove him crazy. But he still had to give them their props. At least they were trying to do something with their lives. They were determined not to let the ghetto take them out.

Mia noticed the fresh slash across Snake's cheek and the blood on his shirt.

"You prick! If she's hurt I'm going to kill you myself, you fake-ass player," she yelled. "I hate you! I don't know why her crazy ass won't leave you alone."

"Fuck him!" yelled Sydney. "If she's hurt, we're coming after you." She pointed at Snake.

"All of you bitches can go to hell. That's my woman. I'm fucking her, not y'all," he said with a sarcastic grin.

That's just why I don't like them. They got too much mouth, he thought to himself as he turned and walked to his Benz.

"You're going to get yours. You watch!" Mia yelled. When the trio reached the apartment and rang the buzzer, Rose's little sister Meredith answered the door. They pushed her aside and ran straight to Angel's bedroom. When they saw the hole in the door they started screaming Rose's name. She was already in the bathroom cleaning herself up. The crew looked around the room. It was still in shambles. The closet door was wide open, showing the open shoe boxes, shoes, and clothes all over the floor. Lissa ran to the bathroom door and started banging on it.

Rose came out of the bathroom all cleaned up, looking fine except for the knot on her forehead. Her long tresses were pulled back into a ponytail. She wore some form-fitting Filth Mart jeans and a white Prada belly blouse.

Mia, who was the most perceptive of the crew, looked at the glow on Angel's face and assessed the situation.

"After he whipped your ass you fucked him, didn't you?" She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes, not giving Rose a chance to answer. "What is the matter with you? One of these days he's going to kill you. What do you see in that fuckin' womanizer?" She was furious.

"I can't help it." Rose burst out crying. All three girls rushed over to Rose and surrounded her in a group hug.

"Damn you, Rose," Sydney said.

"I can't help it. It's just that this is the kind of relationship we have. You wouldn't understand. We've been together for almost two years, and I love him. I'm crazy about him. He's responsible, and he helps us out a whole lot. If it wasn't for him my college tuition wouldn't be paid. And when my mom got sick we would have been in the streets. Plus,"—she gave them a sly smile—"I whip his ass. Y'all know he got the bruises to show it."

They all burst out laughing.

"I am not scared of that ma'fucka." Rose was trying to sound like Bernie Mac. "I laid down the law tonight and told him no more fighting or else I'm going to blow his fuckin' brains out."

"Well, you're hot ass is going to end up dead, and I am not going to the funeral," Lissa said. "I am sick and tired of both of you."

"Please, can y'all help me clean up this mess?" Rose pleaded.


	4. Chapter 4

Rose was born Rosemarie Denise Hathaway-Mazur, second oldest of four children. When she was born, her mother looked at her high tanned skin, Brown eyes, and silky dark brown hair with red tint and immediately knew she should be called Rose. As she grew, everyone always remarked that she was the spitting image of her Father. She was Average height and curvy at 5 feet 7 inches, and for some reason, until the 7th grade she still had all her baby teeth. The girls would call her stuck up, or Miss Prissy, when she was growing up. And they were right—Rose was beautiful and she knew it.

Her mother, Janine Hathaway, had been an insurance agent for the last eight years, but before that she worked in a club as a guard. Angel's father was a underground mob boss. Everyone called him Big Abe because he was 6 feet 5 inches and semi-tanned skin, with dark red hair. Between Abe and Janine both holding down steady employment, Rose and her siblings were raised with a lot more class and money than other kids.

Rose loved and looked up to her eldest brother, Eddie Right. He earned the nickname Eddie Right because he always insisted he was right, even when he knew he was wrong.

When Rose was only nine years old and he was fourteen, she remembered how Eddie Right was bragging to everyone. His daddy, Abe, was going to get him a moped dirt bike for Christmas. He went so far as to carry the picture of the black and red motorbike in his back pocket to flash to anyone who was interested. He told nine-year-old Rose, and Mason, who was eight, that he was not going to give them a ride on it because they were too little. This was a big kid's bike.

He bragged about the dirt bike for months. He even brought home straight A's on his report card the semester before Christmas just to make sure. He wanted to hear no excuses when it was time for Abe to deliver.

All of Eddie's friends looked up to him. He had both of his parents living at home, his clothes were nicer than the rest of the crew's, and he was very smart. Plus, Eddie Right always scored with the hottest girls. He would leave out no details when telling his partners about his scores. Eddie Right was living large in their eyes, plus, they couldn't wait to ride around on the dirt bike with Eddie, in front of all the honeys.

As Christmas neared, Abe started to give more thought to the idea of his eldest son riding on a motor dirt bike. He discussed it with Janine. The more he thought about it, the more he disliked the idea. It was dangerous, and too many of the kids were getting jacked for their expensive things. He had enough problems keeping Eddie off the drugs and out of trouble. He was not about to lose his son over a bike. So Abe decided to buy all three of his kids Schwinn ten-speed bicycles. Of course, Rose and Mason were ecstatic, but Eddie was pissed off. He had his heart set on that black and red dirt bike. Plus, he had his boys and the honeys to impress. Dangerous didn't matter to Eddie Right.

When Eddie's homeboys found out that Eddie got a bicycle instead of the motorbike, they clowned him something awful. So Willie, furious and embarrassed as hell, made him a pipe bomb, went down to the auto paint shop where Abe worked for a cover up job, and torched the place. Eddie was smart, but dumb enough to torch the joint in broad daylight. Even though the shop was closed, the few eyewitnesses in the area knew he was Eddie's son. And everybody knew Abe. Just about everything in the shop was flammable, so it didn't take but a couple of minutes for a loud explosion and flames to reach the sky. The flames were so high the whole west side of town could see the smoke.

Eddie had made it safely home where he was posted on his front porch. He grinned as he watched the black smoke circle the clouds. His boys, Jessie, Ralf, Edward, and Jasper sat down on his stairs and watched the smoke, listening to Eddie Right, who knew he was wrong, describe how he made the pipe bomb and burned the shop down to the ground. They had been sitting there for almost an hour.

"My dad loves that shop more than he loves me. Now who's he going to love more?" Eddie declared.

Just as Eddie got those words out of his mouth, nine police cars came flying down the street. All of his friends scattered like roaches running from a can of Raid. Eddie ran into the house to get Abe's shotgun.

When Janine saw what her fourteen-year-old son was doing, she ran toward him and tried her best to take the gun from him.

"I'm not going to go out like that!" He kept screaming.

Rose and Mason stood watching as Eddie pushed their mom down and bolted for the door.

"Get upstairs! Now!" Janine screamed at Rose and Mason to go upstairs.

Rose and Mason didn't move. They gazed out the window in horror at all the police cars, then at their big brother, holding their daddy's big gun.

"Put down the gun and put your hands up in the air!" screamed the officer through the bullhorn.

"You put your gun down and put your hands up in the air!" yelled Eddie.

"I repeat, and this is my last time…"

The sentence was interrupted when Eddie cocked the shotgun and pointed it at the officer on the bullhorn.

"Put the gun down, Eddie," sobbed Janine.

"I repeat, put down your fucking gun and put your hands over your head!" yelled the police officer.

Eddie Right refused to put the gun down, and the trigger-happy police went to firing at Eddie right there on the front porch. His body moved, jerked and fell as if he were in a movie and the scene was playing in slow motion. They shot him so many times that Eddie's tall, thin body was ripped and torn to pieces. Rose, Mason, and Janine watched the whole horrifying scene from the window. Now, Eddie Right's body pieces lay shredded up on their front porch.

They didn't even know that Abe was outside in handcuffs, sitting in the back of one of the police cars. He had punched one of the police officers, and was even prepared to take the rap for his son. Instead, he watched helplessly as his son's life was taken over a dirt bike that he refused to buy.

Abe was so distraught about the loss of his son that he left his family, never to be seen or heard from again. He didn't even know that he left Janine pregnant. She was left alone to raise Rose, Mason, and the soon-to-be-born Meredith.

Janine refused to go on welfare. She tried to make ends meet on her salary from the hospital cafeteria, but things were tough. Raising three kids was getting more and more expensive. She eventually lost the house that she and Abe owned, and had to move her family into the Roger Gardens projects.

After years of struggling, one of Abe's friends finally helped her get a job as a clerk at an insurance company. Janine decided to go to school at night to get her license and become a full-fledged insurance agent. They were struggling, but Janine was determined her kids would have a chance to move out of the projects. She pursued her career, and she made sure the kids went to school, did their homework and made the honor roll. Janine was determined that they would make something of themselves in spite of the tragedy they had faced.


	5. Chapter 5

That was ten years ago. Janine and her three kids moved out of the projects into a 15-story apartment building on the west side of town. Times were not as hard because of Rose's boyfriend Dimitri. And Janine's dream of her children succeeding was becoming a reality. Rose was working toward her law degree and Mason was working on his Associates degree in broadcasting. Meredith, following her siblings' example, was an honor roll student. Janine let herself believe they had really accomplished something. As much as possible, she just ignored the fact that her daughter was dating a player.

When Rose first introduced her to Dimitri, Janine had practically fainted. She knew him as Little Dimitri when he was just a kid, and she also knew that he came from a long line of players. His daddy was a player before he got stabbed to death. He also had four player uncles.

She had Yelled Rose over and over, screaming at her, wanting to know how a college girl could turn into a whore. Why couldn't she stay away from that player? Rose moved out of the house, in with Lissa, and didn't speak to her mom for several months. Janine kept calling Lissa's mom to secretly check up on her daughter. Rose was still going to college, working, and of course, laying up with Dimitri, the player. When she couldn't stand it anymore, Janine finally broke down and asked her daughter to come back home. Of course, Rose was glad to move back in. She missed her mom, brother, and her sister.

Janine was pleasantly surprised when Rose showed up back home. She had really underestimated her daughter's strength. Rose was a confident and strong-willed person, who wasn't about to be turned out by Dimitri, and he knew that. She could think for herself. That's what Dimitri liked about her. She was someone who could balance him out. Someone to settle down with. After all the whores he'd dealt with, Dimitri respected a woman who wouldn't let him beat her down physically or mentally.

As Dimitri put his foot on the brake of his Mercedes Bens, he reminisced back to the day when he'd first laid eyes on those long, smooth, yellow legs. Those were the first things that caught Dimitri's eyes. He considered himself a connoisseur of legs. His eyes roamed from those long, curvaceous beauties to that perfectly round ass to those perky, young tits. He was floored. She wore a white, sleeveless, leather-front top with deep cleavage and a tight, cream-colored, pleated skirt. Dimitri grabbed his dick and put it along his thigh because it had gotten hard.

Rose could feel the heat of a dog's roaming eyes all over her body. She knew that she was a dog magnet. She had had her share of dogs, so at this point in time she was being extra careful and not giving in too soon. As Rose turned slyly around to see where the dog was, her books slipped to the floor.

Damn! she thought. That's what I get for even thinking about giving a dog a bone.

As she bent down to pick up her books, she noticed the black, snakeskin Versace shoes quickly coming her way. She smelled the Armani aftershave. Dimitri didn't say a word; he just bent down, picked up the remaining books and handed them to her. This bitch is fuckin' fine! he almost said out loud.

"Thank you," she said.

"Oh, miss, that will be Ten dollars and eighty-seven cents," the cashier announced.

"Just a minute," Angel snapped.

Dimitri pulled out his wallet to pay for her meal. Rose's eyes were glued to the iced-up Rolex on 's wrist as he reached over and handed the cashier a 10-dollar bill. Before she even took her eyes off the Rolex, Dimitri had already turned and walked away. He was a player. He knew how to set his traps. The cashier yelled after him to get his change, but he just kept walking, slow, smooth, and with confidence.

As Rose eyed him from the back, she had to admit that she liked what she saw. He looked to be about 6 foot 7. He had long dark, wavy hair. His stride was full of confidence and power. And watching it was all the more fun because he had the kind of butt that a woman loved to squeeze.

The tailor-made Armani suit, silk shirt, snakeskin shoes, iced-up Rolex and Armani aftershave announced that ole boy got it goin' on, but Rose knew from hard-knock experience that you can't judge a pretty boy by his cover. She had to check things out thoroughly. She grabbed her container of teriyaki steak and rice and quickly headed for the exit. When she got outside, she looked right and didn't see him. She turned left and still he was nowhere in sight. She sighed and put her hand on her hip. Dimitri was sitting in his Benz watching her every move. He knew that she would come looking for him.

"Works every time," he said.

Dimitri beeped that smooth Mercedes horn and rolled down the passenger window. Angel checked out the "Benz" with the chrome rims. This man thinks he's smooth,she thought. She went over and peeked into the car. His Armani aftershave smacked her in the face. She dropped a 20-dollar bill on the passenger seat.

"I can pay for my own meals. But thanks anyway." She quickly glanced at the manicured hand resting on the steering wheel.

Dimitri looked at her beautiful, pouted lips and said, "No problem. I assume you're one of them independent women."

"You damned right." She turned to walk away.

"So it's like that?"

Rose acted like she didn't hear him and kept on walking. Now it was her turn to set a trap. As she headed to her Honda Civic, she knew he wouldn't be far behind. She fumbled for her keys, opened the door, set her books on the backseat and the container of teriyaki steak and rice on the front seat. Once she turned the key in the ignition, the shiny black benz pulled up in front of her, just as she'd expected. Dimitri got out of his car and walked toward her.

"What are you, stalking me now?"

"No. Just give me your phone number and I'm out."

Rose looked him up and down. Damn! he is mouth watering, she thought as she tried to suppress a smile.

"I don't give my number away to strangers."

"I'm not a stranger. I picked up your books from the floor, I tried to pay for your meal and I made sure you got to your car safely. Strangers don't do that."

Angel looked into his eyes. They were dark and cold, but everything else about him said he was all that. Angel liked the whole package.

"Give me your number." She tried to flip the script.

"I don't give my number to strangers," Dimitri answered, looking into her eyes.

"Oh, well. We're just deadlocked, then, aren't we?" She didn't look away from his stare.

"Deadlocked, huh? So, you must be a law student."

"Maybe, maybe not."

He had already seen the Rutgers parking sticker on her windshield.

"So, what's your name?"

"So, what's yours?" she teased.

Needless to say, Dimitri was enjoying this little game. "My friends call me Snake, but it's Dimitri Belikov."

"My friends call me Rose, and it's Rosemarie Hathaway ... say the Hathaway part and I will kick your ass. Now, may I go?"

"After I get your number."

"I'm listed," she snapped as she rolled up the window.

Snake smiled and turned back toward his car. He slid into his Benz, pushed number four on the CD player and pumped ''Fuck it'' by Eamon. Rose sat and watched the Benz ease around the corner.

"I think that went quite well," she spoke out loud to herself. "If he's all that, he'll find me."


End file.
